Last Day at The Walton Group Inc.

I can not believe today is my last day of work at The Walton Group (TWG). I have been here a year already and it has gone by so fast. Working here has definitely helped me narrowed the field of where I want to work. I now know I do not want to work in an agency.



I do have to give thanks to my boss Linda Walton. She took me under her wing and trusted me to work on projects and create campaigns for clients. When I first came to TWG I was an intern. I had  been done with school for about a year and I was ready to jump in with both feet. I had taken a year off to care for my son but I learned quick that I am a working girl. I admire those stay at home moms but it is not the life for me.

I have been blessed to be able to hone my skills of writing press releases, networking, advertising, and even a little graphic design . I have learned how important doing charity work is. I have learned a tremendous amount in my year here but I feel like it is my time try something new.

The new place I will be working is called Sundesa. They are the inventors of the Blender Bottle. At first I will a sales administrator, but they said I will be doing some PR too. I really want to learn about corporate/in-house PR. I am still young and want to explore all of my options. I do not want to get stuck in job right out of college I end up hating 10 years down the road.

Sundesa is a very laid back atmosphere. The people I have met are very friendly and seem like they would be fun to work around. When I went in for my first interview the employees we talking about eating 100 day old eggs from China. I instantly knew I would fit in. I really hope this job works out and becomes a career for me (It also means Matt will get to stay in Happy Valley). It seems very promising. The President of the company said there is lots of room for advancement in their company. The only down side is they are not very community oriented. I think it is really important for a company to be involved with the community and show the people they care.

Well, wish me luck!

Reconnecting

I love reconnecting with people from my mission. Facebook is such a blessing in my life. It has been hard for me to stay in close contact with people because I never knew their real names. We only knew people by their nick name.

Today I was able to get in touch with a man I met in one of my favorite areas. He is a refugee from the Congo. From what I know of his story he was a boxer. I am not one hundred percent sure what happened but I think he lost and his country told him not to come back. He had to leave his family behind and go to Thailand. When he came to Thailand he met a Thai lady and had a baby with her. He is very cute. Unfortunately after he joined the church his girlfriend left and took their son. He is still living as a faithful member of the church in Thailand. Having faith and hope that one day their will be peace in his country so he can return home.

He definitely makes my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ so much stronger. He lives with nothing and yet still lives a happy life. I feel so spoiled to have a nice place to live and food to eat every day. He has a great support system in Thailand. I admire his courage and his faith. He is a great man and will someday be a great contribution to his country as a member of the church.

Dream for the Future

Why does it always see like our dreams/goals in life are so far away? I have been think about where I thought I would be by this time in my life and this is not it. I have a great life but I have not accomplished all I wish I had. I always thought that I would be married (check) and have two kids (half check) and have a well paying job with benefits (kinda check). I thought I would be graduated from the University of Texas (graduated but not from Texas). I really wish the economy was better because I feel like it has been holding me back. I am a college graduate and have work experience but can not find a job that will pay enough to support our family. But at least I am working.

By this time in my life I thought my husband would be graduated from college and have a good job. I thought we would be living on our own and have a nice little starter home. I always thought I would have the option of working or being a stay at home mom because my husband would be making enough to support us with out me working.

Even though not all of my expectations have been fulfilled I am so blessed. I have a great husband who supports me in any of my adventures (except yoga and Zumba). I have the best son in the world who loves me unconditionally. I have great in-laws that let me live in their basement apartment for free. They babysit whenever we are in a bind and even if Matt and I just need a break. I have a great boss who would do anything to accommodate my situation. She lets me take off when Little Matt is sick or when our babysitter has to cancel. We have hardly any dept (have to drive something). I live in one of the cleanest cities in America. I can go to the temple whenever I want because it is five minutes from my house.  I never have to worry about second had smoke or being overrun by liberals. I am free to practice my religion and not be persecuted for it. 

General Conference- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

I feel in past few conferences I have not made a great effort to pay attention. I would watch or listen to parts of the conference but never made it a priority.

With in the last month someone in my ward gave a talk about discussing the church with a non-member. While he was speaking with this non-member they had starting talking about prophets and how we still receive revelation today during General Conference. The non-member asked him about going to conference and if he attended/watched. This member said he usually watched the Sunday sessions. The one thing that really stood out to me about his talk was when the non-member asked him how if he knew he was receiving direct revelation from God how could he not make it more of a priority in his life. WOW!

I really started thinking about this and my testimony of the gospel. So, this conference I have made it a priority to listen and take what the Prophet and Apostle say and apply it to my life. The talks this October have been so amazing.

I remember as a missionary we could not wait to get the General Conference issue of the Ensign and be able to read it in English. We really do learn so much more when we listen in our own language.